Custom Tag: Practitioner Spotlight

Early Days My fascination with languages started just before I went to high school while learning the English alphabet during the last winter of my primary school days. My love affair with the English language would continue for the rest of my life. My first encounter with an English-speaking person was probably as a young university student back in the 80s.  I was asked to interpret for an elderly American missionary at our small church near Seoul.  I somehow enjoyed the novel experience, beginner’s luck I suppose. The old gentleman ended up marrying me and my wife a few years later, on […]

Read More… from Practitioner Spotlight: Dae Young Kim

NAATI bringing me into spotlight – asking me to share my experiences as a translator and interpreter with the world – what an honour! So, what can I share? My mind immediately flew back to 25 years ago when I had my first taste of translating and interpreting. As a young migrant from Pakistan who was studying at the University of Oslo and had been happily married for just over two years, I had decided to change course after studying philosophy and psychology for two years. I took a foundation course in phonetics and linguistics and enrolled in English literature. […]

Read More… from Practitioner Spotlight: Faiza Syed

Last week I received a phone call from a woman for whom I used to interpret more than 15 years ago. It was such a surprise and made me think about the rewards of this profession. In this woman’s case I interpreted for the whole family when they found themselves newly arrived in Australia and in very traumatic and desperate circumstances. She said she’d never forgotten the valuable service I had provided, and her family always remembered how much I’d helped them by removing the language barrier during those difficult times. I interpreted for them over many months, even years, […]

Read More… from Practitioner Spotlight: Magdalena Rowan